Home/Markets/ Trump’s auto tariffs would be a massive escalation of trade war

Trump’s auto tariffs would be a massive escalation of trade war

Garrett Mcdonald |Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Oettinger"We are ready to discuss a reduction and restructuring of all tariffs in all sectors.”

Mr. Trump is also scheduled to meet with lawmakers on Wednesday to discuss his administration's proposed plan to offer $12 billion in aid to farmers hardest hit by retaliatory tariffs imposed by USA trading partners.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is scheduled to meet Trump Wednesday in Washington, a last-ditch effort to convince him to hold off imposing punitive tariffs on European auto exports to the US.

He said this was a "short-term" solution to help farmers and give President Donald Trump time to negotiate a longer term trade deal to help agriculture and other sectors hurt by unfair trading practices by China and others.

Both sides were stocking the fire before Wednesday's crunch talks, with the European Union threatening to introduce tariffs on $20billion worth of U.S. goods if Washington imposed new levies on auto imports.

"Countries that have treated us unfairly on trade for years are all coming to Washington to negotiate", he said in a pre-dawn tweet. Although I am pleased that some steps are being taken to reduce the harm from these misguided tariffs on Iowa's farmers, we must not stop fighting for greater opportunity and market access.

Hours after news outlets reported the administration's pending program, Heitkamp announced she had introduced legislation to extend eligibility for direct financial assistance to farmers hit by retaliatory tariffs imposed on their exports.

While the United States claims the retaliation is "illegal", the Trump administration has acknowledged it is doing damage to American farmers, and on announced it will provide up to $12 billion in aid to farmers hurt by trade tariffs.

Republican senator Ron Johnson voiced the views of free traders in Trump's party, saying: "This is becoming more and more like a Soviet-type of economy here: commissars deciding who's going to be granted waivers, commissars in the administration figuring out how they're going to sprinkle around benefits".

"This administration's tariffs and bailouts aren't going to make America great again, they're just going to make it 1929 again", he said in a statement.

Mr Trump, speaking at an event in Kansas City on Tuesday, reaffirmed his support for tariffs and pledged that "farmers will be the biggest beneficiary".

Farmers are a key part of the rural political base that elected President Donald Trump, who has promised they will emerge from a trade war better off. "I don't think there is enough money in the government to make anybody whole", Ebert said.

Additionally, American goods shipped overseas are being slowed from reaching market by unusually strict or cumbersome entry procedures, which can affect the quality and marketability of perishable crops, it said. But Rotz said in Pennsylvania, where corn and soybeans are used for animal feed, the impact has been felt most keenly among fruit and vegetable producers and pork and dairy farmers.

Earlier this month, 25 percent tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese imports of machinery and electronics went into effect, prompting Beijing to respond with tit-for-tat tariffs on American exports of soybeans and other products.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced the aid in a call to reporters, saying the programs "are a firm statement that other nations can not bully our agricultural producers to force the United States to cave in".

"When you have people snipping at your heels during a negotiation, it will only take longer to make a deal, and the deal will never be as good as it could have been with unity", he said.

Addressing the China trade relationship, Trump wrote on Twitter, "They are being vicious in what will be their failed attempt". Because it's an existing program, congressional approval isn't necessary.

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) was even more scathing in his response to this move.

In the past four months, Trump has imposed tariffs against steel and aluminum imports from China, Canada, Mexico, the European Union, Japan, and a range of other countries, and he is threatening to broaden the scope of the tariffs to cars and uranium imports, among other things.

"We can not exclude either possibility, but China would not want to see the latter", he said. "And President Trump is the first one to call them on that".

"The administration must develop a support mechanism that will mitigate the significant damage that is being inflicted upon our most vital global markets for years to come", he said in a statement.

Agriculture is the rare USA industry that runs a trade surplus, with a projected US$21 billion this year.

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